Paul Pelosi Enters Not Guilty Plea in Napa County Hit-and-Run Case Through Attorney

Paul Pelosi, 86, did not attend his initial court hearing Friday in Napa County Superior Court, where his attorney Amanda Bevins entered a not guilty plea on his behalf to a misdemeanor hit-and-run charge. Bevins, who represented the venture capitalist husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., declined to comment regarding the proceeding.

The charges against Pelosi stem from a July 3 incident in which he allegedly struck a parked Tesla while operating a burgundy Maserati convertible and subsequently departed the scene without providing required identification or contact information. According to a criminal complaint, sheriff’s deputies located him approximately half a mile away, where he told officers he had intended to return to the accident location.

Prosecutors charged Pelosi with both a misdemeanor hit-and-run offense and a traffic infraction for an unsafe turning movement. The district attorney’s office stated it made an exception to its standard practice of not announcing misdemeanor hit-and-run cases involving only property damage due to the “significant public and media interest” surrounding the case.

This marks Pelosi’s second major traffic-related legal matter in Napa County within recent years. In 2022, he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor driving under the influence following a separate collision, resulting in probation, restitution, fines, a DUI education program requirement, and installation of an ignition interlock device.

The New York Times previously reported that Pelosi has received multiple traffic infractions across four Bay Area counties in recent years, including violations for speeding, improper lane usage, cellphone operation while driving, and failing to stop at a red light. The Times also documented that Pelosi was driving during a 1957 crash in San Mateo County that resulted in his 19-year-old brother’s death, though a jury subsequently exonerated him of wrongdoing in that incident.